Jane Eyre (Signet Classics)

A delightful fully engaging story. I was captivated, dejected, enthralled and ultimately rewarded with the most beautiful ending to a wonderful story. Must read.

Oh how I love this novel! Jane Eyre is one of those novels that I can read over and over again and get something new out of it every time. I consider it to be one of the most readable classics, one I can just pick up and lose myself in it without even thinking about it. To me, that's a testament to how well it holds up, there aren't too many classics I can say that about because I find so many of them to be rather plodding. This time around, I found myself to be much more emotional about the trials that Jane goes through. I've gone through quite a few emotional events since the last time I read this one, and that undoubtedly affected my reading of many of the situations Jane is in. I openly wept when reading about her treatment during early childhood at Gateshead and later at Lowell School. As we get towards the middle section of the book, and Jane finds such happiness at Thornfield, I was so elated to witness her journey again. Yet, because I knew where it was going, I found myself deliberately slowing down, as if I could prevent more pain for her simply by reading the story so slowly. Of course, this didn't work and I was soon crying along with Jane again as another misfortune befell her. At some point, I just want poor Jane to catch a break! I think the thing that struck me most during this reading was how incredibly frustrated I was with St. John. Normally my frustration in this book is directed towards Mr. Rochester, he seems so fickle at times and difficult to read. Speaking of, I wasn't ever sure...is Rochester his actual name, or is that his estate/title? I think Fairfax is his real surname but I could be wrong. Those Brits always confuse me with this stuff! Anyway, back to St. John. He really is a good man, you can see it oozing from him, but he is so incredibly stubborn I wanted to reach into the pages and just slap him! I get that things were different back when this was written, and that what Jane proposed to him really just wasn't feasible. My frustration stems from his inability to just let the whole thing go! Given that he basically knows the entirety of Jane's story, I think it's really manipulative of him to continually try to convince her to do what he wants. He's not a stupid man, he knows that Jane longs to be involved with other people and is eager to please due to her childhood being so grim. And rather than taking a truly Christian path by wishing her the best when she makes her own choice, he continues to try and guilt her into doing things his way, even to the detriment of her own health, without any real concern for what may be best for her personally. Maybe it's my own ambivalent religious beliefs that make this more difficult for me, because I just don't believe that Jane should have to give up the things she believes may make her happy simply because St. John believes she *could* be a good servant to the lord. Needless to say, I agree with the choices Jane makes in the end, as she was finally able to do as she pleased. Because this is a reread for me, I knew all the major plot points ahead of time, and I think that knowledge added to the frustration I felt for St. John. With each reading, I feel like I understand Jane a little more, and feel for her more deeply, so I can almost experience the pain she goes through to the point that her conversations with these important people really affect me on an intimate level. I felt my own happiness being ripped away at the same time that Jane did, and that makes her all the more real to me. I've lost count of how many times I've read this novel, but this one really cemented it as my all time favorite classic, and one of the books I recommend to people when they ask for something new to read.

Jane Eyre is an unusual, mysterious and refreshing love story. Right from the start Jane's suffering sets the tone for the novel. Jane is mistreated by her aunt Mrs. Read and abused by her cousins. When Jane is sent to the charity school Lowood, her life is not much better, as the neglectful school is a brutal place to grow up. Sad, plain and orphaned, Jane is a new kind of heroine. Jane Eyre is not the beautiful, perfect and delicate character dominates fairy tales. After years of watching Disney's various versions of handsome Prince Charming fall in love with a beautiful girl whom misfortune has befallen, Jane is most certainly a welcome change. After surviving an epidemic of typhus, near starvation, intense cold and chilblains, she certainly makes Sleeping Beauty look pretty pathetic for fainting at the prick of a needle. Indeed, Jane's life begins as more of a tragedy than a fairytale. However, her story really begins when she leaves Lowood and becomes a governess at Mr. Rochester's Thornfield. When Jane first encounters Mr. Rochester, she is happy to help him and feels comfortable doing so. As Jane and Mr. Rochester talk and spend time together, their love for each other grows. Despite the presence of haughty and beautiful Blanche Ingram, Mr. Rochester and Jane become engaged. At this point in a typical love story, the couple would be married and live happily ever after. However, in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre Mr. Rochester's mysterious past seizes the fairy tale moment to reveal itself and haunt the happy couple. This portion of the book is a bit long but is pleasantly new, as Mr. Rochester is a welcome substitute for the ubiquitous Prince Charming. Rochester is not handsome or young, instead he is bad tempered and is rescued by Jane more often than he does any rescuing of his own. It is very rare to find a novel with such fresh characters, and it's bracing that the book is not dominated by excessively beautiful people. Rather, Jane and Rochester are easy to relate to. After the marriage ceremony is interrupted and Rochester shows Jane his wife Bertha, the novel slows to about the pace of a sloth. Charlotte Bronte's novel would have benefitted greatly from an aggressive editor who could have cut about a hundred pages out of the book. Jane makes the dramatic and frustrating decision to leave Thornfield, and preserve her honor as well Mr. Rochester's. At this point in the book the level of my admiration for Jane plummeted along with my interest in the story. As starving Jane wanders through the wilderness in apparent agony over a decision she made of her own free will, she happens to stumble on the home of her distant relatives. After recovering, and beginning a job as a teacher she receives an inheritance from a long lost uncle. Unable to suppress her curiosity as to what had become of Rochester, and receiving no response from Mrs. Fairfax, Jane searches for her beloved Mr. Rochester. As the novel ends, it regains its excellence with the sweet reunion of Jane and Mr. Rochester. Although Rochester is crippled and blind, the story gets its long sought after happily ever after. Jane and Rochester are unusually fascinating characters, who make a more lasting impression than their beautiful fairy tale counterparts.

After several weeks I have just finished the 1847 novel JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte. Loosely based on the Cinderella fairytale, popular at the time, it provides a heady offering of soaring language, complex characters, epic adventure, and an intimate entry into a world very far from our own, yet one from which we come. Yes, it has dated some, but a generous reader will put that aside for the novel's abundant riches of elevated thought, challenging syntax, operatic structure, and wry humor. Very interestingly, too, Wikipedia tells us, "The novel revolutionized prose fiction, being the first to focus on the moral and spiritual development of its protagonist through an intimate first-person narrative, where actions and events are coloured by a psychological intensity. Charlotte Brontë has been called the 'first historian of the private consciousness' and the literary ancestor of writers such as Marcel Proust and James Joyce.'" The novel was ahead of its time in other ways too. Jane's fiercely independent character frames the whole and allows the novel to approach with freshness and dignity the universal topics of class, sexuality, religion, wealth disparity, self-control, restraint, and feminism. JANE EYRE is widely considered one of the greatest novels in the English language. I am very happy I read it. You will be too. -- CHUCK BAUER, 2025 "I can live alone, if self-respect, and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give." —Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

One of the challenges in reading a great work of literature is that it often has many imitators. The imitations may be flattering or unflattering; they may be complimentary or subversive; they may borrow just little bits or just about everything. In addition to spoiling surprises (thanks a lot, I Walked with a Zombie!) it is possible for the original source to look cliched or hackneyed after experiencing all those others. Did that torpedo this book for me? Consider some various elements in the story: The first conversation between Jane and Helen Burns at Lowood School reads like the best of Dostoyevsky. The plot meanders from location to location across England like the best of Dickens. Jane has romantic entanglements with noblemen and churchmen (it's Church of England, after all) like the best of Austen. Ghosts, crazy people, and supernatural/horrific events pop up like the best of Val Lewton. Jane Eyre does not suffer at all by comparison. The story of the orphaned girl growing up in an unloving home with an indifferent aunt and cousins, moving out to a harsh boarding school where she gets her education, and taking a job as a governess at the lonely estate of Mr. Rochester is compelling reading. Her character grows throughout the book in believable and engaging ways. There are many deep conversations about Christianity, duty, missionary work, matrimony, etc., that fit naturally into the story and arise from the people's lives. I found the book fascinating and hard to put down. This is a great work of literature undiminished by other similar works. Thanks to Julie and Scott at A Good Story is Hard to Find for getting me to read this wonderful novel. I did read the book on Kindle for Android, which means I didn't really have a book. Unfortunately there was no annotations or notes and quite a bit of dialogue is in French (with a small bit of German, too). I remember just barely enough to get through but it would have been nice to have translations available. I don't know if other e-versions have better support for language-challenged readers. It is something to consider if you haven't read Jane Eyre and don't know French. I think a reader could get by without it but it can be frustrating.

Love this book... One of my all time favourites

perfect paperback for my pocket/mini tote bag. cute cover.

The story Jane Eyre is a classic romance novel. This story was written in in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte. As you can image the story is very influenced by the social norms of that time. But in essence that is what make the story so believable. Jane Eyre is about a young girl who was orphaned and made to stay with her cruel rich aunt. In Jane's younger years she gets verbally and physically abused by her aunt and cousins. One day Jane fights back and is eventually sent to a boarding school for girls. The life style at the school is harsh and dangerous. The girls living their have very little clothing, food, shelter, and people willing to take care of them. Because of these bad circumstances illness strikes. After that occasion the climate in the school changes to one where the girls are provided for. Jane is able to get a wonderful education, and when she graduates she decides to become a governess. She puts an add out in the paper and is contacted by Mrs. Fairfax to become the governess to Adele Varnes. Jane goes to live at Thornfield Manner. She spends many happy months there. Until Mr. Rochester comes to visit. He is Jane's employer and the guardian of Adele. Mr. Rochester confuses Jane in ways that no one every has. Love sparks between the two of them. But this love is tested by secrets from Mr. Rochesters past! I found all of the characters in this story to be believable and realistic. They seemed like people you would meet on the street. Well, minus the fact that they have the mannerism of someone from the 1800s. In particular I love Jane Eyre. She is a strong woman. That any female could relate to. It surprised me when I first read the book that she was so strong, since this book was both written in the 1800s and took place there. Also, the emotions that Jane has are very realistic. While she was at the girls boarding school she lost a friend and it felt really real when it happened. I will admit to shedding a few tears when it happened. I think that the bases for a good book is if the story can touch the reader and for me this book did. I did really like the story. The plot and characters where both interesting and well thought out. At times the book was very slow and my interest was lost. It could get a little boring if you don't have a lot of patience and determination. My favorite part of the book was the ending. The ending was happy and a good solution to both Jane and Mr. Rochester's problems. It left me satisfied and I didn't have anymore questions. My least part of the book was the middle. There wasn't enough change in the story and Jane was too caught up in her own head. There needed to be more action there or even a new character. The middle just didn't do it for me. I would recommend this story to someone else. Probably an adult or a teenager. Like I said before you need a lot of patience and determination to get through the book. So, for anyone under the age of 15 it would be a very difficult read. To really enjoy this book you have to love history and a good romance. To really get this book you have to understand the motivations of people in the mid 1800s. It really wouldn't make to much sense to someone who doesn't have a grasp on history. I would give this book 4.5. The plot and characters in this story are amazing. However the plot sometimes is somewhat slow. Overall I believe that Charlotte Bronte did a wonderful job writing this book.